Tuesday, February 5, 2008

A hypersonic passenger jet

A2 new supersonic passenger jet can fly from Europe to Australia in less than 5 hours

A hypersonic jet that can fly from Europe to Australia in less than 5 hours was unveiled this week by scientists at Reaction Engines based in Oxfordshire, southern England.

The British engineers say the A2 plane will be able to carry up to 300 passengers at a top speed of nearly 4,000 miles per hour (6,400 kmh), at five times the speed of sound. The speed means no windows for passengers, but designers may put flat-screen televisions in place of the windows to simulate outdoor views, giving the impression of seeing outside.

The A2, nick-named the LAPCAT (Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies) project, is being backed by the European Space Agency and should be available for deployment within the next 25 years.

Currently to fly from the UK to Australia can take as long as 22 hours and often requires passengers to catch a connecting flight somewhere along the way.

The new A2 plane operates on ecologically-friendly liquid hydrogen and is 143 metres long – around twice the size of the biggest current jets at the moment.

It could fly non-stop for up to 12,500 miles (20,000 km) and fares, priced at £3,500, sterling pounds (4,700 euros, 6,900 dollars) would be comparable with current first class tickets on standard flights.

"The A2 is designed to leave Brussels international airport, fly quietly and subsonically out into the north Atlantic at mach 0।9 before reaching mach 5 across the North Pole and heading over the Pacific to Australia,". The flight time from Brussels to Australia would be four hours and 40 minutes.